IU's New "Eight" Music Video Is Bringing Tears To Fans' Eyes

“There is no such thing as decided goodbyes / meet me in that memory that was once beautiful / forever young”

These moving lyrics are from IU‘s “Eight”, a new song produced by (and featuring) BTS‘s Suga. This introspective track is written from the perspective of twenty-eight-year-old IU traveling through her memories.

Where the sun has set, as far as the sun sets
I travel in those memories

— “Eight” (English translation)

Both the song and its music video are open to interpretation, but many fans believe that “Eight” could be a letter to her late friends, SHINee‘s Jonghyun and Sulli. Jonghyun passed away in 2017 at age 27, and Sulli passed away in 2019 at age 25.

In the “Eight” music video, a lizard appears on the window of IU’s plane then later transforms into a dragon.

The dragon flies into the sky to catch a girl in white.

Together, they fly by IU’s plane as she looks tearfully out the window.

Some fans have theorized that the lizard/dragon could represent Jonghyun, who loved the Pokemon Charmander, while the girl in white could be Sulli.

Some fans of IU interprets the song with IU's deceased friends, Sulli and Jonghyun. They said that the girl in white was Sulli and she's now soaring high with the dragon which is Jonghyun (since he loves charmander).
©️#IUxSUGA #EIGHTTODAY pic.twitter.com/iUQZE0dSgX

— 김태형 💜 (@kimchylee951) May 6, 2020

The white girl doesn't have mole on her cheek unlike IU. Why I didn't notice that earlier!?!???#IUxSUGA #EIGHTTODAY #EightWithIU #EightWithMinPD #EightBy93Line https://t.co/LkyobdrvbO

— anne ✿ #IUxSUGA (@jieuntrash) May 6, 2020

So the girl in white is Sulli and the flying lizard is Jonghyun, and then there's IU looking at them from the plane I'M LITERALLY BAWLING RIGHT NOW 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/P0mAeA7twX

— 𝓾𝓷𝓵𝓾𝓬𝓴𝔂 ∞ (@jieunoppa) May 6, 2020

As of now, IU has not addressed these theories, but it’s beautiful to think of these “forever young” friends flying on to new adventures together.